


Brother, Where Art Thou?

by Ryuuto



Series: You're My Head, You're My Heart [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 21:44:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1565108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuuto/pseuds/Ryuuto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hazel has been worried about her brother ever since Gaea told her about his capture by her forces.  It's when Nico's daemon comes to them without the demigod that makes her worry even more.  She starts dreading what sort of state her brother will be in when they do rescue him from Gaea's clutches.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brother, Where Art Thou?

**Author's Note:**

> And here we are with the third installment of this series. This is a Percy Jackson AU where demigods have daemons from His Dark Materials. I have a [primer](http://restcalm.dreamwidth.org/1416.html) for those just finding this or for those who don't know the elements of HDM that I'm using.
> 
> This fic takes place during The Mark of Athena.

If it hadn’t been for Piper and Zenobiar, Hazel was _sure_ that her brother would’ve been lost to her regardless of whether they found him or not.

It all started on their way from Kansas to Atlanta, Georgia. Piper’s daemon had been in the form of a golden eagle, flying with Jason and Annabeth’s daemons. It had been Dahanain, a spotted owl, who saw an unusual sight. He saw a barn owl flying toward the _Argo II_ , and pointed it out to the demigods currently on deck: Piper, Hazel, and Leo. Everyone else was below decks to get some rest before reaching Atlanta. Hazel’s heart had been in her mouth at that. Nico’s daemon was a barn owl, and she prayed that it wasn’t Neron at all. That it was just some wild owl braving the threat of being mobbed by crows and other deadly diurnal birds.

“Leo! Do you thi--” Hazel began, but then she was interrupted by a shriek of alarm from Kaiya, an American kestrel.

“The barn owl is dropping! He’s losing flight!”

There was no time for discussion. They couldn’t risk that the owl wasn’t some demigod’s daemon in trouble. Zenobiar shifted from golden eagle to peregrine falcon to dart after the barn owl. Leo, meanwhile, was doing _something_ with the controls to make the ship slow down for the daemon to catch up with them. Ibeakan, Hazel’s pink fairy armadillo daemon, scrambled up from her pocket to press against her neck, trembling. The others below deck were rushing up the stairs.

“What’s going on? Kaiya said there’s a barn owl daemon in trouble,” Jason demanded once they were there, concern etched on his face.

Nobody answered. Dahanain swooped down to perch on Annabeth’s shoulder, acquiring a look that meant the two of them were having a silent conversation. Piper’s eyes were focused intently on her daemon. It was a tense silence until the daughter of Aphrodite’s shoulders relaxed marginally.

“Zenobiar’s got him. The owl was falling by the time he got there, but Zeno managed to catch him.”

Hazel’s heart had been clenched in a fist until that moment. She almost fell to her knees in relief, and Ibeakan licked her cheek in that same relief. Then, she almost cried when Zenobiar returned in golden eagle shape with the barn owl. The daughter of Pluto felt the tears welling up as she took in the battered, injured daemon. Hazel knew that it was Neron. She would recognize that particular daemon anywhere, though there was nothing special in how he looked. For her, it would always be a feeling. Ibeakan scrambled down her and scampered toward Neron, distressed at his state.

“Oh, gods...Nico,” she whispered in horror. She barely felt Frank put a comforting arm around her shoulders, though she leaned against him for support. The worry she’d felt when Gaea had said she had Nico was nothing compared to now. Neron and Nico were the most inseparable pair Hazel had ever met. That her brother’s daemon was here and injured only confirmed what Gaea had said.

Her brother had been captured.

-*-*

It took what felt like hours before Neron was conscious again. Even with the nectar treatment, he still looked so tired and hurt and didn’t talk. He was a quiet daemon normally, though he got noticeably more chatty around Hazel, but this was different. Whatever was happening to Nico, it had affected Neron severely.

Everyone’s daemons tried to coax something out of the silent barn owl, and even Hazel tried. Out of everyone here, even Percy and Annabeth, she was the closest to Nico and by default had permission to speak with Neron. Eventually, Hazel suggested that they all left Ibeakan and Neron alone to see if that would help. One by one, they all agreed, and left the two daemons in Hazel’s room.

After a few minutes had past, Ibeakan scurried over to rest on Hazel’s shoulder. She sensed his disquiet, and waited for him to tell her what had transpired. It didn’t take long.

“Neron has confirmed that Nico had been attacked while searching for the Doors of Death,” Ibeakan told her softly, “He says that during the capture, Nico had told Neron to find the two of us. To help us however we can. To tell us what happened.”

“What happened, ‘Kan?” she asked, dreading the answer already. Her daemon shook his head solemnly.

“He wouldn’t say. It was too painful for him, and he’s been concentrating all his efforts on helping to support Nico with their link alone. Whatever has happened, we will get nothing out of Neron until they are reunited.”

Hazel bit her lip, plucked her daemon from her shoulder, and held him to her heart. It pained her to think that her brother had been hurt so badly that even his daemon refused to speak of it. Even more, it troubled Hazel that her brother was in such a state that Neron was forced to communicate to him through their bond, both telepathically and empathetically.

At least she knew that Nico was alive, for if he wasn’t, Neron wouldn’t be here at all. She _had_ to take it one step at a time, or else her worry would consume her and make her useless when it came time to rescue her brother.


End file.
